As talked about as Kendrick Lamar is in 2013, the West Coast rapper says pressure isn't a factor in his life.

"Man it’s crazy, they would say they expected a lot before the album. I don’t even know what pressure is called anymore (laughs)," said K. Dot in an interview with DubCNN. "I think that’s just a word made up now that people just wanna put on you. Because before I put this album out they were like ‘How much pressure is it to work with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre,’ and then I delivered the album, now they’re saying how much pressure is it for you to do it again."

"I don’t even know what pressure is now. I’m just doing me man," he added, matter-of-factly. "I don’t even look at it as pressure anymore, I never looked at it as pressure. I just felt I’d make the best music I could make. You either like it or you don’t, but it’s always gonna real to me."

Kendrick also explained why his debut with Dr. Dre, good kid, m.A.A.d city, didn't feature any production from the good doctor, unlike Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, Eminem's Slim Shady LP, and 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin'. "Basically Dre just told me to go out there and do my own thing. See the thing about it is, people get so caught up in the hype with just being with Dre, they just figured he had to stand over your back the whole time while you’re doing music. He looked at me as an artist, cause I already had like three street albums out: Kendrick Lamar EP, O.D. and Section.80."

Kendrick elaborated, explaining that Dre was content with and confident in his artist's formula. "He said I was already ready. All I needed to do is go out and continue to do what I’m doing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That was the main thing he was always saying. By the time I came and turned the album in to him in, that was when we were supposed to lock in the studio and do some records. But he decided and said ‘You’re done. You don’t need to go back in with me. Because you have all the records here."